Wildflower display raises money for mental health

Villagers have created a meadow of 7,000 paper flowers to raise funds for children and mental health charities.

The display is open every weekend in July at St Peter's Church in Dowland, near Winkleigh in Devon.

Donations will go to Peter's Patch, which offers children fun activities in the school holidays and mental health charities Papyrus and Mind.

Organisers said the flowers were symbolic of the Peter's Patch's mission to introduce children to nature.

Peter's Patch treasurer Sue Dunn said: "The positive effects the natural world has on our mental health is widely known.

"It felt right to support mental health charities because at Peter's Patch we want to get people into nature.

"It's involved a tremendous amount of work from the creators, and donations will go 100% to these charities and they will change lives."

Villagers pitched in to make the flowers, which follow a display of poppies that cascaded from the church to mark Remembrance Day in 2022.

Poppy cascade in memory of three WW1 soldiers